...As I have loved you...

John 13:34 says: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

I have this scripture hanging on my living room wall and today, while folding diapers for baby boy, I kept thinking about that "As I have loved you" part... Not "love one another as long as you agree on everything." not "love one another as long as they are nice to you." but "Love one another. As I have loved you"


If we really get down to it, if God can love us in spite of our many sins against Him, if he was willing to send his Son to die for those sins so that we could live with Him for eternity, shouldn't we try to love one another even when we disagree on something? Even when we feel like someone may have wronged us? 

Psalm 130:4 says: "But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you."  

Philippians 2:3-4 
Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

He's forgiven us of our sins, why can't we be willing to forgive others when they sin against us or those we love? I know this is something I've struggled with in the past. Are we serving God with reverence? Are we loving his people the way he loves us?

The Bible says in Matthew 18:21-22

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven..." 

Proverbs 10:12 

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

Now, that doesn't mean that we have to in trust people, especially those that have wronged us. I haven't found a verse yet that says to continue to trust those that have hurt you... Or that we should put our faith in people, people WILL let us down, God won't!

Psalm 9:10

And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Proverbs 25:26 says "Like a muddied spring or a polluted well are the righteous who give way to the wicked."

Who wants to be a Muddy Spring? When we put our faith in people, we will always be disappointed, because people aren't perfect and haven't been since Eden and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. We will always fall short, others will always fall short. Love them anyway because God loves us even though we fail him daily. If the God of Heaven, who sent his son to die for us, can forgive us, we should be willing to forgive others and share the love that He pours out on us... "Love one another. As I have loved you" 

1 Corinthians 13:13 

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 John 4:11

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Some heavy thoughts on sin and sexual immorality

I've been Spending some time in 1st & 2 Corinthians, Paul was so clear, concise and loving in his writing to the Corinthians. He called out sinfulness in the church and basically told them to straighten up and fly right when they were "getting it wrong", but he LOVED them.

So often Christians are called hateful for not accepting the sins of those we love, by both Christians and nonChristians. "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Is quoted a lot, however nobody quoting that one passage ever goes any further into that scripture, to the part where Christ tells the adulterous woman to "go and sin no more." He didn't give her license to keep living a life of sin. He told her that what she was doing was sinful and she needed to stop. He wasn't hateful, he was loving and clear.


God doesn't want us to just accept our sins or the sins of our brothers and sisters, he wants us to be bold in the face of sin and stand up against it. 

Galatians 6:1-2
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

James 5:19-20
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

2 Timothy 2:22Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

I feel like the bible is pretty clear on sexual immorality, it's mentioned many times and covers a myriad of sexual sins from adultery of the heart to homosexuality... In God's eyes, they are all equal sins. 

Ephesians 5:5
"For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." 

Matthew 5:27-28
27"You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Just looking at someone lustfully is wrong! That means the new guy or girl at work that has been flirtatious, the spunky and charming server at your favorite restaurant, that good looking person in your favorite show or movie that you can't help but drool over, and porn. Porn is not a harmless thing, not from the stars in the films or pictures you're lusting over, not to your partner and not even to you, do research on what effects porn has on the viewer, they aren't good. Sexual immorality is a sin against our own bodies!

Jude 1:7
" In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire."

Let us not forget Sodom and Gomorrah or the fate they suffered!

Leviticus 20:13 
"If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them."

In his letters to the Corinthians Paul didn't gloss over the hard stuff, he spoke boldly and did not mince words. He addressed immorality within the church in 1Corinthians 5:1-2 
"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?" 

Even pagans do not tolerate it! It seems like in our world now, so much sin isn't just tolerated, it's celebrated. Casual sex, adultery and homosexuality are all over movies, primetime TV, even teen and young adult books. 

Paul goes on to say that he had told them not to associate with sexually immoral people; not meaning just the people of the world but of fellow Christians that claim to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral, greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. He told them to not even eat with such people. He is talking about Christians that claim to be brothers and sisters in Christ but are living in rebellion of Christ and His commandments. Paul mentions greed, idol worship, and the sexually immoral to name a few. We may not like it (because we have all fallen somewhere in there at some point in our lives), but that is what it says.

Sexual immorality has morphed a lot over the years; we have premarital sex, adultery, homosexuality and pornography running rampant even in our own Church families all over the world. We make excuses like, "He hasn't paid attention to me in so long and I just want to feel special." or, "Love is love" and "Porn doesn't hurt anyone, it's just a private thing I like to do to de-stress.". We tell ourselves these things as we sink deeper and deeper into our own depravity. The problem is, Paul calls us out in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 
"Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God"

Ouch, that slaps us all in the face in one way or another doesn't it? Thankfully he goes on in 
1 Corinthians 6:11 
"And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

Did you read that? We've been washed in the blood of Christ, sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! Praise the Lord! So does that give us license to do whatever we want? Well, let's keep reading in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 and finish out that chapter...

"12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."

Our bodies are members of Christ himself. Did Christ defile his body with acts of sexual impurity? Certainly not! So why would we defile our bodies (which is one with Christ himself) with such acts? 
In Matthew 18 we read about how we shouldn't allow ourselves to stumble...

"8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell."

Those are pretty great measures to avoid a sinful life. If every time you pick up your phone you are looking at porn or texting someone in an unwholesome way, get rid of the phone! Make it harder for yourself to fall prey to those temptations! We were bought at a high price, the blood of Christ himself! Not only are we sinning against our own bodies, we are sinning against God and his Holy and pure sacrifice. What a slap in the face to Him! 

As Christians we aren't meant to be of this world and that can mean giving up earthly pleasures so our hearts can remain pure and our focus on walking in God's light.

Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Ephesians 5:11
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

This week try to take stock of what your priorities are and make an effort to align your priorities with God's will for your life. Pray for guidance and a willing spirit. Spend time in His Word. Make time to grow your relationship with our Creator. 

Have a blessed week!

Not here for your entertainment

I know as moms we often struggle with "mom guilt" because we feel like we aren't doing enough. Some days we feel like we've got it all together and we are doing things really well, and then the next day somebody pulls the rug out from under us and all heck breaks loose and it's all we can do to keep our heads above water... sometimes it's the latter more than it's the former. The world tells us that we have to do everything and be everything and have our kids involved in activities and sports every. single. day... that we have to be on the go 24/7. Things like Pinterest has tons of ideas on how to throw the best birthday parties and how to fill each moment with excitement and meaning.

I honestly believe that that's not what God wants for our families. I feel like God wants us to be present in our children's lives to teach them love other people, to treat each other with respect and kindness and to look for ways to help those in need. I feel like what God wants from us as mothers more than anything else is to teach our children to love Him and to love and care for other people.
The bible says in Proverbs 22:6

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

Notice that it doesn't say, "entertain your child and fill their days with activities all the days of their lives" because that isn't going to produce loving, empathetic, functional human beings. How often do we hear the words, "I'm bored." like we are a cruise director here to organize the next exciting thing? God didn't put me on this earth to entertain my children all day long. Don't get me wrong, I love reading to them and playing "sardines in a can" (kind of a reverse hide and seek), we bake cookies and do art projects together, but my life doesn't (and shouldn't) revolve around making sure they are entertained all day long. They need to learn to entertain themselves while I make sure they don't cut each other's hair and light the house on fire. It's good for their imagination and their character to learn to "entertain" themselves.

Don't fret over every single minute of the day, just be there for your kids and teach them to love God and love His people.

Just a recent picture I look of my husband and our middle daughter <3